A RAINBOW OF SUPPORT

Grandmother Loses Battle For Visitation

CASSOPOLIS -- Braving a stiff west wind, supporters of the bereaved
families of Grover "Tom" Crosslin and Rolland Rohm paced the sidewalk
outside the Cass County Courthouse Thursday, hoping to reunite Rohm's
son with his paternal grandparents.

But it was not to be.

A request by Rohm's mother, Geraldine Livermore, to have visitation
rights with Robert, Rohm's 13-year-old son, was denied by Cass County
Probate Judge Susan Dobrich after an hour-long hearing.

The ruling effectively means Livermore would have to take her case to
the state Court of Appeals in order to have any chance to contact the
boy, who is currently in a foster home.

But Livermore, whose son was killed by police during a standoff Sept.
3 at Rainbow Farm Campground near Vandalia, said she may be too
frustrated by what she says is a corrupt system to pursue the matter
further.

"This is it; I'm done," she said, tears rolling down her face. "I'm
giving up."

The hearing is the latest twist in a saga that has been unreeling
since Rohm, 28, and Rainbow Farm Campground owner Crosslin, 46, were
indicted on felony drug charges in May. The charges were based on a
lengthy investigation of festivals held at the campground, which
authorities claim played host to illicit drug activity.

But Rohm and Crosslin did not appear at a court hearing on the charges
slated for Aug. 31.

Instead, they stayed in the farmhouse they lived in at the campground
at 59896 Pemberton Road.

That prompted a standoff with Cass County and state police. The
standoff ended in tragedy for Crosslin on Sept. 3, when authorities
say he was shot by an FBI agent after he brandished a gun at them.

Rohm was shot and killed the next day under similar circumstances by a
Michigan State Police trooper.

In addition to the deaths, the standoff left Robert without a father.
He had been raised by Rohm since he was 4, and family and friends said
Crosslin and Rohm were both fathers to the boy. Jennifer Donoho of
Dowagiac carries a protest sign during a demonstration relating to
legal proceedings involving late Rainbow Farm Campground principals
Tom Crosslin and Rolland "Rollie" Rohm at the Cass County Courthouse
in Cassopolis on Thursday morning.

And that, supporters said, is a big reason why he should be allowed to
see his family.

Robert's "dads are both dead, and the house he lived in has been
burned to the ground," said Sarah Dolezal, a family friend who joined
the rally Thursday. "What right does the state have to keep a little
boy who has been through that away from his family?"

But Dan Wilson, who heads up the statewide advocacy group Parents for
Children, said the scenario is all too common within the state's
courts. His group has sponsored more than 100 rallies, much like the
one it co-sponsored with advocacy group Jail4Judges at the Cass County
Courthouse on Thursday, to call attention to similar cases.

"There are thousands of children in foster care across the state, and
many of them don't need to be there," he said. "In some cases, it
becomes more about the money than the parents."

Some at the rally have experienced this the hard way.

One picketer, Carol Grayam of Dowagiac, said she has not seen her
3-year-old granddaughter in three months, since a court order placed
her in foster care.

"This is my grandbaby, and they won't even let me write to her," said
Grayam, carrying a picket sign. "All I think about is seeing her again."

Even though the rally did not sway the court ruling, at least one of
the two dozen or so demonstrators said he believed it had served the
purpose of putting the issue on display for the public, and hopefully,
Robert, to see.

"The reason I am here is so that people understand that this happens,"
said Doug Leinbach, a friend of Grover "Tom" Crosslin. "I hope that
Robert will see this in the news, and he will understand that his
friends and family are still here.

"He needs to know that."

The next court hearings connected to Rainbow Farm Campground are
slated for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. today in Cass County Probate Court.

The hearings will determine if family members will be allowed to
oversee the estates of Rohm and Crosslin until Robert is old enough to
inherit them. The state is petitioning for a Niles attorney, Peter
Smith, to serve as overseer of the estates.

In conjunction with today's hearings, another rally will be conducted
at the courthouse, 110 N. Broadway, beginning at 8:30 a.m.